


Sliding Doors

by Flywoman



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Drabble Sequence, Episode: s04e15 House's Head, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-26
Updated: 2011-02-26
Packaged: 2017-10-19 14:46:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/202003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flywoman/pseuds/Flywoman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amber doesn’t get on the bus. A series of connected 100-word drabbles set in an AU starting at the end of S4.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sliding Doors

**Author's Note:**

> My first experimentation with drabbles, inspired by [](http://barefootpuddles.livejournal.com/profile)[**barefootpuddles**](http://barefootpuddles.livejournal.com/) 's latest. Title from the Gwyneth Paltrow film of similar theme.

**1\. Sliding Doors**

Amber sneezes again as she’s opening her purse and fumbles for a tissue. By the time the bartender hands her credit card back - _$124.16, what the hell had that bastard been drinking??_ – House has disappeared.

She hurries outside and catches sight of him a long block away, leaning heavily on his cane, just before a bus pulls up beside him. The doors wheeze shut as she arrives, out of breath, and she coughs on the acrid cloud of exhaust as the bus pulls away from the curb. Cursing, she pops another Amantadine on her way back to the car.

***

 **2\. Lost Property**

When he wakes up, Wilson is holding his hand. His friend’s face is unshaven, and his eyes are moist and red-rimmed. “You’re at Princeton General.” Only now does House take in his surroundings, the dingy white walls and unceasing small sounds of a common ward, the harsh thin fabric of his hospital gown. “Foreman complained to me when you didn’t come in today. It took a little while to track you down.”

House swallows thickly, his tongue clumsy in his parched mouth. “Should have ‘Property of James Evan Wilson’ sewn into my underwear.”

Wilson chuckles raggedly and squeezes his fingers.

***

 **3\. Head On**

He hasn’t been easy with either of them since the accident. House has been avoiding him; Wilson wonders whether he knows.

He never fought with any of the others. Sam simply left; Bonnie turned a blind eye until his behavior became too blatant for the biggest martyr to tolerate; Julie suffered his absences in silence, then sought solace in another’s arms. But Amber won’t accept his attempts at evasion.

“Who are you blaming, James? House for getting trashed on a Tuesday afternoon, yourself for not picking him up, or me for not being on that bus?”

Wilson wishes he knew.

***

 **4\. Liquid Courage**

He returns the ring the next morning on his way to work. On cue, House barges into his office, gait still unsteady since the crash, and gleefully interrogates him. But having established that Wilson wasn’t at the drycleaners or delayed by a flat tire, his friend abruptly departs without asking about Amber.

That night Wilson shows up at House’s place with a six-pack. It’s all for him; House is still off alcohol while he recovers. After his second trip to the bathroom, he sits down on the couch next to his friend, too close, and leans in for a kiss.

***

 **5\. House Divided**

A year later, Amber walks in on him sucking Wilson off in the bathroom at Chase’s bachelor party. She feigns embarrassment on their behalf and then vanishes through the door with a sly smile, leaving the faint fragrance of apricots behind. House lets Wilson’s dick drop from his mouth as he stares after her.

Above him, Wilson knits his heavy brows together, still breathing hard. “House? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Did you invite Amber?”

“I don’t even know where she’s working now. Why?”

House’s hand reaches automatically for the reassurance of the prescription vial in his pocket.

 


End file.
